Speaker 1: To on the move, going Deep, speedless Peace Dad.
Speaker 2: From the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
Speaker 2: This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield.
Speaker 3: He's got Miami has in the playoffs?
Speaker 2: What is up Dolphins? And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast.
Speaker 2: I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show,
Speaker 2: that is it. That is a rap last practice from
Speaker 2: here in Miami Gardens. As far as training camp is concerned.
Speaker 2: We are back on the grass tomorrow in Tampa. But
Speaker 2: today we get some notes. We heard from the coordinators
Speaker 2: and I had to chat with Eric Azuokama from the
Speaker 2: Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This
Speaker 2: is the Draft Time Podcasts lover Miami's office. Plenty of
Speaker 2: updates with regards to who was available and who was
Speaker 2: not on this practice Tuesday. Almost forgot what day it
Speaker 2: was again. Ethan Bonner was back in a red medical jersey,
Speaker 2: so was Chris Brooks and running back Jalen Wright as
Speaker 2: they all got their work in with no contact. Jalen
Speaker 2: Waddle back on the field, mostly in individual drills, but
Speaker 2: he had his helmet on, which is a good sign
Speaker 2: for his progress. And I thought he looked fast and
Speaker 2: quick in some of his releases and route running. Both
Speaker 2: Jalen Ramsey and Jordan Poyer back at practice. Both participated
Speaker 2: in team drills that's a great sign, and Tyreek Hill
Speaker 2: dressed down but did not participate. It was a light
Speaker 2: day of practice. It is a travel day as we
Speaker 2: head out to Tampa Bay. Right after this recording is over,
Speaker 2: I am on the road over Alligator Ally and into
Speaker 2: Tampa to watch practice tomorrow with the Dolphins and Buccaneers
Speaker 2: ahead of the preseason finale on Friday. We'll have a
Speaker 2: podcast on Thursday that covers that game as well as
Speaker 2: my final camp thoughts, and then we're on to basically
Speaker 2: the regular season cut down day, some more press conferences,
Speaker 2: some season preview content. We'll have plenty of coverage heading
Speaker 2: up to Week one against the Jacksonville Gaguars, and then
Speaker 2: it's on from there. I mean, it's an eighteen week
Speaker 2: sprint to the playoffs. Plenty of shows, plenty of film
Speaker 2: to break down, plenty of games to preview. Beat writer
Speaker 2: guests will have national broadcasting guests, all that fun stuff
Speaker 2: here once the regular season gets here. But for today,
Speaker 2: pretty light day, Although we did get a chance to
Speaker 2: watch Tua do the things that he does best, which
Speaker 2: is just play really good quarterback, and that opening period
Speaker 2: of practice I saw him do a few of the
Speaker 2: things that kind of were cool to see in a
Speaker 2: bookend type of way, and how he punctuated camp and
Speaker 2: all the progress that I think he's made and quick
Speaker 2: spoiler on the Thursday podcast, I'm going to talk about
Speaker 2: five overarching takeaways, five big picture items, and one of
Speaker 2: them is going to be that I think Tua has
Speaker 2: improved his game in a variety of ways that can
Speaker 2: have a big impact on this team going forward. And
Speaker 2: what I thought we saw in this short amount of
Speaker 2: practice time on Tuesday was him stringing together a few
Speaker 2: plays that kind of showcased that complement of skills and tools.
Speaker 2: So first he had a deep shot dialed up or
Speaker 2: trying to get to a deep shot. I should say,
Speaker 2: where both safeties Jordan Poyer and Elijah Campbell did a
Speaker 2: good job of helping the corners and kind of capping
Speaker 2: the vertical shots on this route. And what do you
Speaker 2: typically have when you try to throw the ball deep?
Speaker 2: You have options in the short area in case they
Speaker 2: are not there. And what I saw too ad was
Speaker 2: pump this deep shot that he was never going to
Speaker 2: throw because it was very well covered, and then immediately
Speaker 2: got to his checkdown. And I keep talking about this
Speaker 2: skill set for a quarterback, and you know, I go
Speaker 2: back to the year that I watched every quarterback and
Speaker 2: graded all their film and kind of put together a
Speaker 2: website that I thought gave my name a little bit
Speaker 2: of recognition outside of the Dolphins fan base. What was
Speaker 2: the idea of the project at least? And one of
Speaker 2: those quarterbacks I stud he was Derek Carr, and that
Speaker 2: was the year that he had you know, he was
Speaker 2: in the MVP consideration till very late in the year
Speaker 2: when he got hurt. And when I went back and
Speaker 2: watched the tape, it was one of the best offensive
Speaker 2: lines in the NFL. And then a bunch of three
Speaker 2: and four vertical routes and then five seconds to pass
Speaker 2: and then checkdowns and then big plays after that, and
Speaker 2: I was like, it looks good in the results aspect
Speaker 2: of it, but as far as like carrying a team,
Speaker 2: I'm not really seeing that. And the reason I bring
Speaker 2: it up is because this route reminded me of that
Speaker 2: he had all data throw. He pumped the ball deep
Speaker 2: down the field to kind of get some displacement in
Speaker 2: the second portion of the field, second level of the field,
Speaker 2: and then found Devon ah Chan in the flat for
Speaker 2: like a fifteen yard catch and run. And with how
Speaker 2: this offense can lift the shells off defenses. Man, if
Speaker 2: you have that in your back pocket, and if it's
Speaker 2: by the way, a sprinter Olympic speed type of running
Speaker 2: back into von ah Chan, you can not just pick
Speaker 2: up seven and eight yards, you can possibly pick up
Speaker 2: fifteen twenty yards. You can possibly score touchdowns on those plays.
Speaker 2: So I'm excited about the options there in the passing
Speaker 2: game at all three levels of the field. And I
Speaker 2: think that we saw that with Tua and eight Chan
Speaker 2: on this play, and then just a couple of plays later,
Speaker 2: they moved down into the red zone and Tua extends
Speaker 2: this play where pressure wasn't there quickly, but the coverage
Speaker 2: was good. And that's kind of an expectation with where
Speaker 2: the Dolphins receiving core is right now, right especially with
Speaker 2: all these defensive backs that came back in practice today,
Speaker 2: I wouldn't expect to get a ton of separation on
Speaker 2: Jalen Ramsey when you have guys that have signed within
Speaker 2: the last week or two kind of as two as
Speaker 2: primary targets, but he did find a guy that has
Speaker 2: been here for longer than anybody, and it was durham
Speaker 2: smythe where he got pressure and extended the play to
Speaker 2: his left and threw this shot on the move on
Speaker 2: to the left where he put the ball right on
Speaker 2: the outside shoulder with coverage underneath drham Smyth for a touchdown.
Speaker 2: So I thought that was a good example of his
Speaker 2: off script ability. So you have the mental capacity and
Speaker 2: how far that's come in his you know, age twenty six,
Speaker 2: fifth year in the NFL season, as well as the
Speaker 2: physical traits that we've seen him kind of take a
Speaker 2: step with that you guys got a short glimpse of
Speaker 2: in the game on Saturday. And then finally the play
Speaker 2: that you know that was the primary skill his entire
Speaker 2: career that led to over forty six hundred passing yards
Speaker 2: and leading the NFL last year was his ability to
Speaker 2: manage from the pocket, which on this play is my
Speaker 2: favorite type of play a quarterback can make when you
Speaker 2: can win and execute the offense from inside the pocket,
Speaker 2: and on this play he had Braxton Barrios to the
Speaker 2: far side of the field, so a field throw right
Speaker 2: the wider part of the field compared to the boundary
Speaker 2: where it's short side, and Braxton has this route. I
Speaker 2: might have been fifteen eighteen yards down the field, and
Speaker 2: cater Kohu has eyes on this pass, and I think
Speaker 2: that he probably thought, you know, without trying to go
Speaker 2: inside his mind too much, I might have a pick
Speaker 2: six right here, and he tries to undercut this shot
Speaker 2: that Tua threw, and I was sitting next to Orlando
Speaker 2: Alzegarian Wolf is kind of locked eyes, like, WHOA, that
Speaker 2: was something special because Tua put the ball high and
Speaker 2: away outside and Barrios not the tallest receiver, he kind
Speaker 2: of had to, you know, rip this football with the
Speaker 2: way you would throw it over the middle of the field,
Speaker 2: you know, over linebackers and under safeties. But throwing it
Speaker 2: on a fifteen yard outbreaker to the far hash over
Speaker 2: an undercutting slot cornerback who has a pinch it for
Speaker 2: big plays. I'm like, Okay, that was a throw that
Speaker 2: I'm not sure was in his bag in the past,
Speaker 2: you know, maybe as much as last year. And he
Speaker 2: put this ball right on location for barriers to catch it,
Speaker 2: turn it up field for a big play. Gosh, it's
Speaker 2: impressive and everything that he does continues to show growth
Speaker 2: and should inspire confidence for this entire Dolphins operation. And
Speaker 2: we had a chance to speak with offensive coordinator Frank
Speaker 2: Smith before practice today and I asked him about the
Speaker 2: you know, in specific terms, the John hus Smith jet
Speaker 2: sweep pop pass in the game on Friday night where
Speaker 2: you kind of not kind of you definitely saw the
Speaker 2: entire commander's defense. Key on two was run fake action
Speaker 2: after the ball was already out of his hands, which
Speaker 2: is built in part from the design of the offense.
Speaker 2: But two was ball handling. Takes this offense and what
Speaker 2: they do with the misdirection and the false keys and
Speaker 2: really allows it to go to a different level. So
Speaker 2: I asked Frank Smith about that and in particular two
Speaker 2: was ball handling. Here is the Dolphins OC.
Speaker 3: I think that's just ultimately something we try and do
Speaker 3: in different phases of the run game, different actions we do.
Speaker 3: It's you know, their ability to see the ball and
Speaker 3: play the ball is things that we try and utilize
Speaker 3: to using all the players we use, whether it's run game, play, action, pass,
Speaker 3: or you know, different things we use like that with Johnny.
Speaker 3: So I think ultimately our ability to do multiple ball
Speaker 3: handlings helps a lot because I think in the run game,
Speaker 3: that's how you can get you can manipulate defenders and
Speaker 3: try and create space to attack. And it's great to have,
Speaker 3: you know, different guys to be able to use in
Speaker 3: different ways to you know, really challenge the defense and
Speaker 3: make them defend all with of the field.
Speaker 2: Also wanted to run this sound from Frank Smith because
Speaker 2: it was a theme on the podcast quite frequently last
Speaker 2: week here on Drive Time talking about this concept of
Speaker 2: year three. And you know, Dolphins fans just of this
Speaker 2: generation don't really know what continuity looks like, especially on
Speaker 2: the offensive side of the football. I mean, you have
Speaker 2: to go back to I guess Dave Wanstead was the
Speaker 2: last time there was consistency at the cordator position, or
Speaker 2: even before that, Jimmy Johnson all the way back to
Speaker 2: Don Shula. We just haven't really experienced having a third
Speaker 2: year in an offensive system in a couple of decades now,
Speaker 2: and we're starting to see some of the benefits and
Speaker 2: the fruits of that labor. And I just loved the
Speaker 2: way after we talked about with alec Ingold, with I
Speaker 2: think even Mike McDaniel and so many players last week,
Speaker 2: I think this is a good way to kind of
Speaker 2: put a bookend on that concept as we get closer
Speaker 2: here to September. Here is Frank Smith on what it
Speaker 2: does or what it looks like when you push limits
Speaker 2: of the offense in the third year together with all
Speaker 2: this continuity, I.
Speaker 3: Think it comes down to when you have the guys
Speaker 3: understand more of the core principles of what we're looking
Speaker 3: to do, and then now you know we're when we're
Speaker 3: trying maybe a different movement to you know, execute this
Speaker 3: similar things we're doing, so they understand the core principle
Speaker 3: of what we're doing. But now as we had different
Speaker 3: wrinkles understanding of how this can impact defense's reaction and
Speaker 3: be able to execute what we're doing. So I think
Speaker 3: as you understand you know what the play is and
Speaker 3: how you fit, and then now, okay, what if we
Speaker 3: move to it from this way or if we line
Speaker 3: up in this formation and try and do it this way,
Speaker 3: so the defense's recognition of us might be different. I
Speaker 3: think that's the big thing that like they can understand
Speaker 3: now because they understand when you're first learning an offense,
Speaker 3: you're trying to figure out, Okay, where do I need
Speaker 3: to be? What are we trying to do in your
Speaker 3: second year? Okay, I know where I'm supposed to be,
Speaker 3: kind of know what I'm supposed to do, but now
Speaker 3: I'm really kind of taking that next step of really
Speaker 3: understanding it now as they know where they need to be,
Speaker 3: what they need to do. Okay, what if we try
Speaker 3: and attack this way? You know what I mean? They go, oh,
Speaker 3: because they already know those baselines, so now they can
Speaker 3: see this next layer and how it fits, and then
Speaker 3: they can own their element of Okay, I see where
Speaker 3: it fits. So if you guys want to move from
Speaker 3: this formation to try and do that concept, okay, I
Speaker 3: see the reaction because like they're beyond looking at they're
Speaker 3: part of the puzzle, like you know, being right, they're
Speaker 3: now seeing the reaction of oh, I see now what
Speaker 3: the defense is trying to do and how we're trying
Speaker 3: to manipulate it. So like that's the layer and that's
Speaker 3: what you get through the you know, the consistency of
Speaker 3: being able to get into year three of the program,
Speaker 3: and the guys are just we have a group that's
Speaker 3: really hungry to hey, let's challenge the threshold. Let's make
Speaker 3: it hard now, so that way when we get to
Speaker 3: the season, there's more carryover of things we're doing as
Speaker 3: opposed to, you know, trying to limit like, hey, this
Speaker 3: is new maybe in October, as opposed to now, hey
Speaker 3: we're pushing the envelope, trying to make it new now.
Speaker 3: So it's just more repetition as we get into the season.
Speaker 2: All right, there you go. We're gonna go ahead and take
Speaker 2: a break for the first segment on this edition of
Speaker 2: the Draft Time Podcast. Come back and continue to do
Speaker 2: this with more soundbites from Frank Smith. We're gonna hear
Speaker 2: from Anthony Weaver. I also had a fun chat with
Speaker 2: wider Eric Azokama. And we'll go ahead and sprinkle in
Speaker 2: the practice notes throughout all of this. That is next
Speaker 2: Draft Time Podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you
Speaker 2: by Auto Nation. I mentioned earlier that Jalen Wright returned
Speaker 2: to the practice field in the red medical non contact jersey.
Speaker 2: And while it's tough to score touchdowns for a running
Speaker 2: back who can't be touched, which almost seems like an
Speaker 2: oxy moron, I do think he had one of the
Speaker 2: now dubbed vintage Jalen Wright mid red zone touchdown runs
Speaker 2: that I've seen all throughout camp. His ability to maximize
Speaker 2: this offense, his run schemes and give you more versatility
Speaker 2: that I continue to be impressed by. I thought we
Speaker 2: saw another one of those where he just hit the
Speaker 2: line with pure conviction and broke through into the second
Speaker 2: level for a nice ten or so yard touchdown run.
Speaker 2: He caught some passes, Devon Ah Chan caught some passes.
Speaker 2: Alec Ingold had a swing route that produced a big play,
Speaker 2: a big catch and run from two as well. Just
Speaker 2: really impressed by all of that. And Jalen Wright made
Speaker 2: a catch on a ball that we'll come back to
Speaker 2: here and talk about, but he ran this route where
Speaker 2: he crossed face on a linebacker and just looked really smooth.
Speaker 2: And his ability to catch the football I think can
Speaker 2: translate in terms of the same way we talk about
Speaker 2: with a Chan and Moster, like, if these running backs
Speaker 2: can get involved in the passing game and take advantage
Speaker 2: of some of the overplay and the open grass in
Speaker 2: the you know, underneath and intermediate areas, man, you can
Speaker 2: really just give defenses more and more to think about
Speaker 2: and to see. Wright who has picked it up so quickly.
Speaker 2: In my opinion, in terms of the running playbook, I
Speaker 2: think he's a ready made and this was him coming
Speaker 2: out of college as far as the prospect goes, already
Speaker 2: made pass protector. Man, if you start catching passes like
Speaker 2: that and be effective in the in the route tree,
Speaker 2: it's going to be hard to keep you off the field.
Speaker 2: So I continue to be impressed by Jaylen Wright. Even
Speaker 2: in the red medical non contact Jersey durham Smyth caught
Speaker 2: that touchdown pass that I spoke about earlier from Tua.
Speaker 2: I thought he had a nice little day getting some
Speaker 2: blocks off the edge and catching the football. We you know,
Speaker 2: we saw Julian Hill and John new Smith continue to
Speaker 2: just make plays and over the weekend and in today's practice,
Speaker 2: and this tight end group is really really kind of
Speaker 2: I think, when the standout group of camp, and maybe
Speaker 2: not in surprising terms, because I thought we knew we
Speaker 2: had in John neu Smith and we obviously know we
Speaker 2: haven't Durham Smythe, but Julian Hill kind of taking that
Speaker 2: next step seems apparent at the stage. And so Frank
Speaker 2: Smith was asked about this tight end group and man,
Speaker 2: he's impressed by it. You go ahead and hear him
Speaker 2: talk about John new Smith right here in his time
Speaker 2: coaching him at the Senior Bowl.
Speaker 3: Just start tight end group in general, I mean guys
Speaker 3: that have physicality, who really enjoy playing the position of
Speaker 3: the blocking you know, play action passing game. To keep
Speaker 3: everything that we ask him to do, they do a
Speaker 3: great job. And John whu. I mean, it's funny for
Speaker 3: me to see him because I coached him at the
Speaker 3: Senior Bowl on the team he was on, So to
Speaker 3: watch him and see how his career has gone, it
Speaker 3: has been awesome because you know, when you work with
Speaker 3: those guys at that time, you kind of like okay
Speaker 3: and him, you knew like, this guy's gonna be a
Speaker 3: good pro and he's gonna have a long career. So
Speaker 3: to have him on our team and using his skill set,
Speaker 3: it's been awesome. And just seeing how he's fitting with
Speaker 3: the guys, fitting into you know, knowing what he's going
Speaker 3: to be able to bring. You know, he's really excited
Speaker 3: for this season and.
Speaker 1: So are we.
Speaker 2: And there was a follow up question there for coach
Speaker 2: Smith about what he noticed about John new Smith at
Speaker 2: that Senior Bowl, and he discussed just how quickly things
Speaker 2: were kind of able. He was able to grasp things
Speaker 2: very quickly with regards to you know, picking up the
Speaker 2: system or picking up little tips from coaches and just
Speaker 2: applying it and calling him a confident and hungry player
Speaker 2: even from that stage, and to me, that tracks with
Speaker 2: how he's you know, coming here and made an impact
Speaker 2: right away even though we haven't had a game yet.
Speaker 2: It's pretty clear to see that this guy has a
Speaker 2: big role in the offense and you saw the other
Speaker 2: night in the game can be a difference maker for
Speaker 2: this offense. Speaking of past catchers, Erica Zukama had a
Speaker 2: really nice catching practice today and it continued off of
Speaker 2: a strong night on Friday. I keep for you know, Saturday,
Speaker 2: see I keep forgetting what day of the games where
Speaker 2: we play a Friday game, then a Saturday game, and
Speaker 2: they're back this week in Tampa on Friday. Just get
Speaker 2: me to the regular season schedule, mans, I'm losing track
Speaker 2: of the day here. We're getting closer and closer to that.
Speaker 2: But Eric Azukama, I had a little chat with him
Speaker 2: one on one after practice and just kind of talk
Speaker 2: to him about some of the things that he's had
Speaker 2: to overcome that wind back run, and also where he
Speaker 2: feels he is in terms of his knowledge and the offense.
Speaker 2: In the third year, Eric, You've been vocal about how
Speaker 2: much you've been looking forward to getting back out and
Speaker 2: making some plays. I'm just curious, like, take me through
Speaker 2: the mindset or I guess your headspace when it came
Speaker 2: to going down in camp and then having kind of
Speaker 2: I guess the jubilation of making some plays other night.
Speaker 4: Man. You know, it's been a long journey, you know,
Speaker 4: ups and downs. But you know, when I step out
Speaker 4: there on the field, you know, it's a different feeling.
Speaker 4: There's something that just goes through my body. It's like
Speaker 4: just locked in and the ball is either in the
Speaker 4: air in my hands. I just you know, try to
Speaker 4: make the most of every opportunity.
Speaker 2: Typically when we see a guy reverse field at this level,
Speaker 2: it doesn't work out that well. Like in high school
Speaker 2: and college it might but and then it felt not usually,
Speaker 2: but you made it happen in the night. What goes
Speaker 2: through your mind when you're trying to reverse fill on
Speaker 2: a screen pass where it looks like you're dead in
Speaker 2: the water and you make a positive play.
Speaker 4: Man, Really just instinct I feel like I've been doing
Speaker 4: that since Peelee. So usually dvs really don't want to tackle,
Speaker 4: so when they when they wrap you up, they wrap
Speaker 4: you up to make sure that the big guys come
Speaker 4: and finish you off.
Speaker 1: But you know, I just spend and I.
Speaker 4: Was able to get out of it and and just
Speaker 4: run the grass.
Speaker 2: Is there any benefit you think from obviously you know
Speaker 2: haven't had a lot of time on the field in games,
Speaker 2: but the any benefit of being able to be around
Speaker 2: you know, these coaches, these players and soak in the
Speaker 2: system for a couple of years here.
Speaker 1: Man, It's it's night and day.
Speaker 4: Being able to just listen and hear the plays over
Speaker 4: and over again, it just gets easier and easier to
Speaker 4: you know, know the concepts, know what the offense is
Speaker 4: supposed to do and what we're trying to attack.
Speaker 2: I mean, you heard him say it right there, night
Speaker 2: and day, right, and I thought that was important to
Speaker 2: ask him, especially on the heels of all the questions
Speaker 2: we've asked other guys and coaches about growth in this offense.
Speaker 2: I mean, Asukama was the first rookie receiver they brought
Speaker 2: in as a staff here, and I just continue to
Speaker 2: look at his game and think about what it could
Speaker 2: do for this offense from a versatility standpoint, from a
Speaker 2: creating flexibility, from your other weapons standpoint like Reek and
Speaker 2: Waddle obviously, but also the tight ends and backs too.
Speaker 2: And you know, I mentioned on the podcast in the
Speaker 2: in the Recap podcast on Sunday, like his vertical skills
Speaker 2: are there. He caught that that deep shot from Mike
Speaker 2: White on a double move from the slot. That's a
Speaker 2: very important role that I don't think a lot of
Speaker 2: guys on this team or in this league can fulfill that,
Speaker 2: you know, ability to go vertical from that position. And
Speaker 2: then how that pairs with a guy that can take
Speaker 2: carries out of the backfield and you know, be a
Speaker 2: screen pass guy that can reverse the field and make
Speaker 2: a play like that and can be a blocker for
Speaker 2: you too. Like I think the skills are all there.
Speaker 2: I think that you kind of know how they feel
Speaker 2: about those skills, and that's why they drafted him in
Speaker 2: the fourth round a couple of years ago. And I'm
Speaker 2: just hoping that he can get healthy and stay on
Speaker 2: the field because I think that he has all the
Speaker 2: ability in the world to make a big difference for
Speaker 2: a good football team that we all expect to do
Speaker 2: good things this year. So excited about Azukama. That was
Speaker 2: a fun chat with him. Let's move inside to the trenches,
Speaker 2: to the line play, if you will, Jack driscoll Man,
Speaker 2: I keep talking about him on the Game Recap podcast,
Speaker 2: and it's offensive. Line play is always so much easier
Speaker 2: to evaluate off of a broadcast or tape, especially, but
Speaker 2: when you just have a video version where you can
Speaker 2: rewind and go see who made what blocks, and who's
Speaker 2: on what angle, and who gets you know, displacement and
Speaker 2: who gets you know, attachment detachment and then climbing to
Speaker 2: the second level for further detachment or attachment. I should
Speaker 2: say I just see him pop every time I watch him,
Speaker 2: And I tried to q in on him a couple
Speaker 2: times in practice, and both times I did it. That's
Speaker 2: what I saw him, firing off the snap, him making
Speaker 2: that first contact, him getting connected on double teams, finding
Speaker 2: a route to the second level, kicking out guys that
Speaker 2: are trying to get upfield as one gap penetrators been
Speaker 2: very impressed by what I've seen from Jack driscoll We
Speaker 2: saw Tron Armstead back out there again today getting some
Speaker 2: live team reps and he looked good. I thought he was,
Speaker 2: you know, classic veteran stuff from Armstead and mixing up
Speaker 2: his past sets getting out and base in the running game.
Speaker 2: And you know, I compared that great Patrick Paul block
Speaker 2: where he kind of took a corner back off to
Speaker 2: the side Michael o'er style from the blind side, where
Speaker 2: he buried a dB on the white perimeter off the
Speaker 2: side of the field and came off the block like screaming.
Speaker 2: And anytime you watch a guy react to a play
Speaker 2: like that, like, just know that he made a play
Speaker 2: that was really special, because guys don't react like that
Speaker 2: unless they know what they've just done. But there was
Speaker 2: some plays where Tron Armers had got out wide and
Speaker 2: practiced today and did some of that, and I compare
Speaker 2: it to it because if you go back to his
Speaker 2: Saints tape, there is all kinds of reps where he
Speaker 2: is making key blocks, you know, on the hash marks,
Speaker 2: off the sideline, the perimeter of the field. So those
Speaker 2: comparisons are fun to see. I did see a particular
Speaker 2: rep where Testead got movement on a player that didn't
Speaker 2: locate his number, but the second player he tried to
Speaker 2: contact Wastelan Phillips, who was having none of that and
Speaker 2: he shut that thing down. And just watching fifteen out
Speaker 2: there operate today was like, Okay, he's he looks pretty good.
Speaker 2: In fact, we asked coach Anthony Weaver today what they
Speaker 2: what Jalen Phillips looks like has returned to the lineup,
Speaker 2: and he said, he looks like we'd expect Jalen Phillips
Speaker 2: to look. And I thought it was important to mention
Speaker 2: that because I'm watching these individual drills and who is
Speaker 2: you know, they've talked about how just hungry he is
Speaker 2: to get back out there, and you know they're if
Speaker 2: he if his body is not in the same place
Speaker 2: as his mind and spirit with regards to returning, they're
Speaker 2: gonna have to be the ones that tell him that
Speaker 2: because he's gonna do as much as he possibly can
Speaker 2: and do what he's allowed to do to the max.
Speaker 2: And we saw that on Tuesday's practice where they were
Speaker 2: going through individual drills and who was the first person
Speaker 2: in line every single time but number fifteen hitting the
Speaker 2: bag and making plays. So he did that, he shuts
Speaker 2: down this outside run where Armstead can't get movement on him,
Speaker 2: and then do you guys remember the play against the
Speaker 2: Packers on Christmas Day a couple of years ago, when
Speaker 2: it was a third and medium situation and Rogers broke
Speaker 2: contain and it looked like a surefire first down, and
Speaker 2: here comes the edge from the other side of the formation,
Speaker 2: number fifteen, chasing him down and get him down short
Speaker 2: of the sticks. He did that on Tua today, but
Speaker 2: not the physical aspect of the tackle. But I was
Speaker 2: a player where I looked at the guys around me
Speaker 2: like that was Phillips, that was the guy coming off
Speaker 2: of an achilles nine months ago, Like, holy moly, he
Speaker 2: looks really really good. All Right, We're gonna go audio
Speaker 2: heavy here as we continue through the defense. Because Anthony
Speaker 2: Weaver I could have played the whole press conference. He
Speaker 2: was just so full of energy, so full of optimism,
Speaker 2: and I like the way he communicates, you know, about
Speaker 2: his players that he clearly they clearly mean a lot
Speaker 2: to him. I want to go ahead and start the
Speaker 2: linebacker play because I've been dying to ask somebody this
Speaker 2: question since I saw it for the first time on
Speaker 2: the field in the game with how Jordan Brooks and
Speaker 2: David Long kind of set a tempo or set, you know,
Speaker 2: set the tone I should say for how games are
Speaker 2: going to be against this Dolphins defense, because you saw it.
Speaker 2: I mean, hitting everything, playing fast and physical, and of
Speaker 2: course with elite techniques. So I asked him, how do
Speaker 2: Long and Brooks fit the principle of fast, physical with
Speaker 2: elite technique? Here is coach Weaver.
Speaker 1: Yeah, those guys exemplify all of those terms, right. I
Speaker 1: think you saw that they not only were out out
Speaker 1: there communicating and trying to take command of the defense,
Speaker 1: but they were hitting everything moving and whenever you have
Speaker 1: that the inside back position, that's intimidating, and ultimately that's
Speaker 1: what we're looking for.
Speaker 2: Speaking of fast and physical changing, Tendall checks those boxes.
Speaker 2: He had another sack and practice today after some good
Speaker 2: pass rush work in the game, and I just think
Speaker 2: that he continues to see it better. I think the
Speaker 2: special teams reps probably help him do that as well,
Speaker 2: just playing more football, running around, feeling more free, and
Speaker 2: I think this defense is really suited to kind of
Speaker 2: maximize what he does well, which if you can run,
Speaker 2: you know, that's a big principle of this defense and
Speaker 2: really any defense in the Marron game because of how
Speaker 2: fast offenses have gotten. But we asked coach Weaver about
Speaker 2: the growth of changing Tendall. Let's go ahead and go
Speaker 2: to the Dolphins defensive coordinator.
Speaker 1: I'm so proud of that kid, just because I know
Speaker 1: nobody puts more pressure on himself than he does because
Speaker 1: of where he was drafted and what he wants to
Speaker 1: be in this league. So he's just come out every
Speaker 1: day and gotten better. Coach Barry coach O'donald Dave invested
Speaker 1: in him, and he's just he's soaking it all in
Speaker 1: and now you see the results of that on the field.
Speaker 1: So incredibly proud of that kid in the strides he's made,
Speaker 1: and I think he's still he still is on the ascending,
Speaker 1: he's still on the climb, So just really excited for him.
Speaker 2: Earlier, I mentioned that run after the catch by Jalen Wright,
Speaker 2: and what I didn't mention to you guys was that
Speaker 2: he actually got stripped on the back end of it.
Speaker 2: And it was a pure punch, a clean punch by
Speaker 2: linebacker Curtis Bolton who put that thing on the turf,
Speaker 2: and then Jason Matrie, the rookie cornerback, picked it up,
Speaker 2: scooped it up and took it in for six more
Speaker 2: on that play and that moment for Matre in just
Speaker 2: a second. But I wanted to mention it because Curtis
Speaker 2: Bolton's the linebacker. We're talking about linebackers. Let's go ahead
Speaker 2: and go back up front here with Kaleis Campbell, who
Speaker 2: was an issue in the in the plays they ran today,
Speaker 2: he and Zach Seeler just kept denting things in the middle.
Speaker 2: And you know, I've we've seen the speed rushes, We've
Speaker 2: seen the blitzer, We've seen those guys get momentary reps
Speaker 2: in games. And you know, Campbell played a feuse now
Speaker 2: the game on Saturday. But seeing him out there with
Speaker 2: Zach Seeler and thinking about how that just sheer massie
Speaker 2: inside pairs so well with the speed you have off
Speaker 2: the edge. I wanted to go ahead and play this
Speaker 2: audio because I think at pairs so well with what
Speaker 2: these two guys feature. Chop Robinson and Mohammed Kamara, who
Speaker 2: got effusive praise from coach we were this morning.
Speaker 1: Those two, let me go back to the Atlantic game.
Speaker 1: I've never seen two people so disappointed that they weren't
Speaker 1: able to take the field like they were, like genuinely distraught.
Speaker 1: Now when they got into the lights like nothing changed
Speaker 1: for them. They just went out and continue to do
Speaker 1: the same thing they've done in practice, which try to
Speaker 1: apply the coaching and let your technique and fundamentals allow
Speaker 1: you to make plays.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: I joked with mo because Chopp has his TfL and
Speaker 1: then maybe like a few plays later, Mohammed Muhammad makes
Speaker 1: his playoffs like, oh, you felt like you had to
Speaker 1: catch up, right, it felt like you were behind. So
Speaker 1: they have a little bit of a healthy competition between
Speaker 1: each other. They love each other, they work together, but
Speaker 1: you need that you're always chasing something and just that
Speaker 1: little internal rivalry between the two of them is pretty cool.
Speaker 2: Last edge note here I have is that Wyatt Ray
Speaker 2: made a couple of plays in practice and that was
Speaker 2: something that tracks with what he did in the game
Speaker 2: against the Commanders this weekend as well. So I just
Speaker 2: wanted to put that note in there because he is new.
Speaker 2: He's the new number forty seven for the Miami Dolphins,
Speaker 2: and he has a flash a little bit here so
Speaker 2: far since arriving in Miami Gardens. All right, time for
Speaker 2: our second break, right there, come back on the other side.
Speaker 2: We'll talk about the defensive backs, and we have a
Speaker 2: lot more sound here from Coach Weaver. All of that.
Speaker 2: Next Drivetime podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you
Speaker 2: by Autoonation. One more position group to discuss, and we
Speaker 2: have lots to discuss within this. I want to go
Speaker 2: ahead and start with audio from Coach Weaver because he
Speaker 2: was asked about any concerns you might have in the
Speaker 2: defensive backfield with Jordan Poyer missing so much time, with
Speaker 2: Javon Holland being out for a little bit, with Jalen
Speaker 2: Ramsey missing a few practices, and Coach Weaver had no
Speaker 2: concerns about that because of collective football IQ. Let's go
Speaker 2: ahead and hear from Coach.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we certainly have to. We have to get the
Speaker 1: defense as a hole out there together, right, And there's
Speaker 1: a couple guys that are battling through some small injuries.
Speaker 1: But I have the utmost facing all those guys because
Speaker 1: they've played so much football, right, The collective football IQ
Speaker 1: of all those guys is so high that I don't
Speaker 1: think it will take long for us to get on
Speaker 1: the same page and gel together. So even though they're
Speaker 1: not necessarily out there taking full speed reps all the
Speaker 1: time in practice, they are getting a ton of jog
Speaker 1: through reps. I mean they're always talking, communicating in meetings
Speaker 1: and you try to steal reps that way.
Speaker 2: Speaking of football, IQ, Jordan Poyer was back at practice
Speaker 2: and looking good out there. He and Elijah Campbell had
Speaker 2: some good work capping deep routes, and it reminded me
Speaker 2: of how Poe and Holland look together when they're operating
Speaker 2: together in terms of how they you know, vary their coverages,
Speaker 2: how they play off each other, how they know if
Speaker 2: he robs, I can go to the post if he does.
Speaker 2: You know, if you can kind of play off each
Speaker 2: other instinctively, it allows this defense to cover more grass.
Speaker 2: I think we saw some of that with Ployer's return,
Speaker 2: even though Javon was on out there at practice. And
Speaker 2: speaking of Javon, man, if you hear what coach we
Speaker 2: has to say about him, he's talked about how you'll
Speaker 2: hear it in this answer about how the safeties can
Speaker 2: impact this defense as a whole. You kind of get
Speaker 2: the sense that Hollands is a guy that they really
Speaker 2: think highly of in terms of what he can do
Speaker 2: to take this defense in the system and take it
Speaker 2: to the level. Here's Coach Weaver on Javon Holland.
Speaker 1: Javon wants to be great, right, And there are examples
Speaker 1: that I showed the defensive guys where literally he'd be
Speaker 1: on like say, like the ten yard line and run
Speaker 1: to the opposite pylon like in pursuit, just trying to
Speaker 1: make a play. And when you're constantly preaching uncommon effort
Speaker 1: from your players and your leaders like Javon are showing
Speaker 1: you now visually like this is what it is, Like
Speaker 1: how easy is that for me as a coach to
Speaker 1: now hold everybody else to that sceame standards. So dealing
Speaker 1: with some things right now, but when he's out there,
Speaker 1: you can see the impact that he he's going to
Speaker 1: have on his defense. The safety position is incredibly important.
Speaker 1: I think if you look back at the Baltimore tape
Speaker 1: and just the history of the Ravens, you know how
Speaker 1: valued that position is. So there's certainly there's certainly excitement
Speaker 1: for what he can do when he gets out there.
Speaker 2: So those are the safeties and these young cornerbacks man
Speaker 2: that they all have skills like, they all have different
Speaker 2: things that make them stand out. They all keep making plays.
Speaker 2: I mentioned the Curtis Bolton strip and recovery off that
Speaker 2: punched out football from Jalen Right, Jason Maytrie was the
Speaker 2: one that scooped that thing up and ran it back
Speaker 2: for six and who else ran down there beside him
Speaker 2: and celebrated with him in pure euphoria then Jalen Ramsey
Speaker 2: and I thought that was great to see in a
Speaker 2: good sign of UDFA cornerback and the best cornerback in
Speaker 2: the National Football League. Doesn't matter where you came from,
Speaker 2: how you got here, we are all one. And kind
Speaker 2: of saw some of that today with how Ramsey reacted
Speaker 2: on that Matrex touchdown. Before we get to Weaver on
Speaker 2: those guys, I want to come back here and talk
Speaker 2: about a guy that I have been very impressed by
Speaker 2: for his range, his hitting, his versatility, and what he
Speaker 2: did in the game on Saturday, especially in Marcus May.
Speaker 2: And let's go ahead and hear from coach Weaver, who
Speaker 2: had very high praise for the Dolphin safety.
Speaker 1: I mean, god, you talk, I mean did you see
Speaker 1: him in the game. The guy was flying around hitting everything.
Speaker 1: I love Marcus. I love his professionalism, I love his toughness.
Speaker 1: He is a guy that is incredible. He started, he
Speaker 1: started for seven years in this league. Yet he approaches
Speaker 1: practice like he's a rookie and he's learning and he
Speaker 1: has something to prove. So I think that says everything
Speaker 1: about him. If you're a young player and you don't
Speaker 1: look to Marcus Man as an example of what it
Speaker 1: means to be to be a pro, then you're doing
Speaker 1: yourself a disservice.
Speaker 2: All right, So one last SoundBite here from coach Weaver,
Speaker 2: going back to those rookie cornerbacks we talked about. He
Speaker 2: was asked about Storm Duck, Isaiah Johnson, and he threw
Speaker 2: Jason Matree and Patrick mc morrison. The answer. You're gonna
Speaker 2: love what he had to say about these guys and
Speaker 2: the way they work, which is helped put them in
Speaker 2: positions to go out and make plays.
Speaker 1: They're very different in terms of skill set, right. I
Speaker 1: think Isaiah's big, tall and long. Storm's a little bit shorter,
Speaker 1: but he's quick as great, long speed. But all those
Speaker 1: young guys you can throw Jason Matrie, right, Patrick Morris.
Speaker 1: That young defensive back groups. I tell you what, they're
Speaker 1: here early every morning. They're doing everything they can to
Speaker 1: try to digest as much information as possible, and typically
Speaker 1: when that happens there's a little bit of paralysis through analysis,
Speaker 1: but these guys have been able to take that information
Speaker 1: and then have it translate on into the field fairly quickly. So, man,
Speaker 1: I tell you what, I'm not counting any of those
Speaker 1: kids out to potentially help us this season. We'll see
Speaker 1: how the roster shakes out and things like that. But
Speaker 1: however it shakes out, those kids should have zero regrets
Speaker 1: about the work they've put in thus far.
Speaker 2: And to just conclude the podcast, you know, I think
Speaker 2: about these guys that don't get a lot of run
Speaker 2: in like obviously not national media, but even you know,
Speaker 2: probably local practice reports because they're you know, twos and
Speaker 2: threes and playing the fourth core of the preseason game.
Speaker 2: But this is where you can develop guys and turn
Speaker 2: them into future assets on your roster, which ultimately gives
Speaker 2: you more flexibility to be aggressive and to go get
Speaker 2: yourself a John new Smith to go get yourself an
Speaker 2: Odell Beckham, to go get a Kendall Fullward and Jordan Brooks.
Speaker 2: When you can develop, you know, roster the back end
Speaker 2: of your roster and bring these guys along and contributing
Speaker 2: players that come through you know, UDFA or third day
Speaker 2: three picks in the draft. That's where you get this
Speaker 2: ultimate flexibility that can help you sustain your success throughout
Speaker 2: the course of time. And you know, I think that
Speaker 2: we were seeing that. I mean, some of these groups
Speaker 2: are so deep. I think with the modern practice squad rules,
Speaker 2: you get more expansion of the development of these players,
Speaker 2: and you might lose a guy or two. You know,
Speaker 2: we lost Elijah Higgins last year, the tight end that
Speaker 2: went to the Cardinals, and that was a tough pill
Speaker 2: to swallow. But for the most part, you don't typically
Speaker 2: get guys plucked all that frequently. But the good thing
Speaker 2: about all this is they have tough decisions, and what
Speaker 2: creates tough decisions, it's a good roster. And I just
Speaker 2: keep thinking about, you know, different things they can do
Speaker 2: to develop for further, you know, future Dolphins rosters, like
Speaker 2: for instance, Julian Hill's a guy we keep talking about
Speaker 2: that's really taken off and taking his game to a
Speaker 2: different level this year. And you see that reflected. I mean,
Speaker 2: he started the game on Saturday against the Commanders, he
Speaker 2: and Jonas Smith getting that first series of run together
Speaker 2: with some durham Smyle sprinkle in there. But I keep
Speaker 2: thinking to myself, like, Okay, John who's here for a
Speaker 2: couple of years, Julian is up and coming in his
Speaker 2: second year, and a guy that I don't know if
Speaker 2: there's room this year on the roster. Maybe I'm wrong,
Speaker 2: maybe there is a spot for him, but it's certainly
Speaker 2: a question for anybody you know, watching or outside of
Speaker 2: the decision makers. Is Hayden Rucie, who's been a really
Speaker 2: good blocker, is there a spot for him on the roster,
Speaker 2: because if there's not, you can probably get him on
Speaker 2: the practice squad and then if he has a full
Speaker 2: year to develop in the way Julian Hill kind of
Speaker 2: did while he got those game reps, of course, that
Speaker 2: can be a guy that what if that you're tied
Speaker 2: end three down the road, Like these are the types
Speaker 2: of things that are valuable on these back end of rosters,
Speaker 2: on these guys that develop that maybe don't make the roster,
Speaker 2: but you can see positive things. That's why I want
Speaker 2: to bring it up because Rouchie fits that mold. You know,
Speaker 2: Duck Johnson, Matrie. I think all three of those guys
Speaker 2: are NFL players, and I just you know, you can't
Speaker 2: keep three rookies because you have Ramsey co who you
Speaker 2: have camp Smith, you have Kendall Fuller, Like, you can't
Speaker 2: keep eight cornerbacks, right, So I just continue to think
Speaker 2: about not just for this year and what this team
Speaker 2: looks like, and that's obviously our main goal. But I
Speaker 2: think you can take this entire training camp process and
Speaker 2: try to find ways to say, we have a lot
Speaker 2: of good things going on right now, but also we're
Speaker 2: developing some guys for down the road, and the modern
Speaker 2: day practice squad rules really help you do that. So
Speaker 2: encouraging exciting stuff. That's it, man. That's it for training
Speaker 2: camp practices here from Miami Gardens. We'll be back tomorrow
Speaker 2: from Tampa Bay. The podcast should come out in the evening,
Speaker 2: just depends on when everything happens as far as practice
Speaker 2: time and stuff, so keep a lookout for that. We'll
Speaker 2: have the camp notebook tonight and tomorrow as well, and
Speaker 2: then Thursday we'll have a podcast for you guys taking
Speaker 2: a look at the game itself and my training camp
Speaker 2: thoughts so far. Friday night into Saturday morning, we'll have
Speaker 2: a game recap podcast and come back next week and
Speaker 2: kind of get into more of a regular schedule. We'll
Speaker 2: have some press conferences to cover, cut down data cover.
Speaker 2: We'll do our NFL Prediction podcast as well, So plenty
Speaker 2: of content coming your way here. But in the meantime,
Speaker 2: you all please be sure to subscribe to the podcast,
Speaker 2: rate review it all that fun stuff. Follow me on
Speaker 2: social at wink with NFL the team at Miami Dolphins.
Speaker 2: Check out my guys Seth and Juice on the fish
Speaker 2: Tank podcast. The Gus Farott episode just dropped. Gosh, I
Speaker 2: have a special relationship with that two thousand and five team.
Speaker 2: It was the first year always a Dolphins fan, but
Speaker 2: the first year that I really began to like go
Speaker 2: onto message boards and take the game like obsessively seriously.
Speaker 2: So I have a special connection of that year and
Speaker 2: if you do as well, you'll love to hear Gus
Speaker 2: for on that podcast. Check out the YouTube channel for
Speaker 2: drive time content, media availabilities, and so much more. And
Speaker 2: last but not leads to Miami Dolphins dot com. Until
Speaker 2: next time, fins up Carolin and Cameron Daddy, He's coming home.